Atkins style dieting

ahamm002

Did the research, found a phrase "there is no molecule in the group carbohydrates that the human needs to eat to survive".

This. Carbs are the junk food of the macro nutrient world. They let your body buzz along effortlessly by giving you glycogen with almost no biochemical work. Your body has a ton of mechanisms for doing this on a natural diet of vegetables and meat (what our pre-agrarian ancestors lived on). If you needed carbs to live, poor Grok with his leaves and buffalo would have never made it to adulthood to beget, eventually, us.

Would that be our Neolithic ancestors with a life expectancy of 20?



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#Life_expectancy_variation_over_time

I'm pretty sure it wasn't the lack of carbs that caused cavemen to die young! Regardless, some populations of Eskimo's still to this day have virtually zero carb diets and are perfectly healthy.

Jenn728

I had great success with Atkins. I lost nearly 20 pounds in two weeks. But beware, as soon as you stop, the weight just jumps back on. I was ok doing it for a while but got burned out.

ahamm002

Low carb diets are fads! No good for you, not sustainable, and far better alternatives.

If you look at the research, you'll confirm the above. Your body NEEDS carbs. It is the primary fuel source. If you take them out, you are tricking your metabolism into using fat stores which is what gives you results in the long term, but as soon as you go off this radical diet, your metabolism will work in reverse and store the carbs you give it, rather than burn them, because you've shocked the system.

You will also suffer from low energy, irritability, etc. Everybody I know who has done a low carb diet has gained all the weight back, and then some.

There are no short cuts to long term and sustainable weight loss. You need a long term approach and a lifestyle change that includes PROPER nutrition and balanced diet, along with exercise. It is really that simple... although not simple to do.

High carb diets, which have been pushed by the government (and possibly food industry) for the past few decades, are FINALLY on their way out. I definitely wouldn't call low carb dieting a fad b/c it's been around for over a decade and doesn't seem to be dying out. The fact is that low carb diets work very well for many people.

I agree that sustainable lifestyle changes are the most important part of long-term weight management. But lower carb diets can be a sustainable lifestyle change for many people. At the worst, low carb diets teach people the change the way they eat for the better by avoiding all the processed carbs and sugar.

Prahasaurus

I think you should separate "Atkins" with low carb, although I understand Atkins is a type of low carb dieting.

I say this because I hate systems in general, and you shouldn't fixate on Atkins or any other system (in my opinion) when developing a new lifestyle around your diet (not "dieting", which implies a short term quick fix, which will probably fail long term).

But yes, a low carb diet helped me lose 40 pounds, and I feel so much better now. I just cut back on the pasta, rice, bread, and beer, plus stopped eating most processed foods (if it's in a can or box, it's probably bad) and the weight just flew off. Of course I replaced those foods with more veggies. And I ate lots of chicken and fish. I also ate more fruit, but I didn't overdue this.

So by all means cut back on the carbs (note: cut back, not "eliminate"!). Just don't get fixated on "Atkins".

Good luck.

bacitracin

Low carb diets are fads! No good for you, not sustainable, and far better alternatives.

If you look at the research, you'll confirm the above. Your body NEEDS carbs. It is the primary fuel source. If you take them out, you are tricking your metabolism into using fat stores which is what gives you results in the long term, but as soon as you go off this radical diet, your metabolism will work in reverse and store the carbs you give it, rather than burn them, because you've shocked the system.

You will also suffer from low energy, irritability, etc. Everybody I know who has done a low carb diet has gained all the weight back, and then some.

There are no short cuts to long term and sustainable weight loss. You need a long term approach and a lifestyle change that includes PROPER nutrition and balanced diet, along with exercise. It is really that simple... although not simple to do.

I can tell you don't actually know how the body works.

Please, try saying that to the people who've been in ketosis for ten years, at www.reddit.com/r/keto and you'll be educated in short order. If low-carb diets are a "fad", then why did our ancestors only eat berries and fruit to give us energy to hunt mammoths and ****? Face it, sugar and grains are a recent development in our species' history, and it's the reason for the obesity epidemic.

bcattoes

I haven't tried Atkins so can't answer your question, but just wanted to mention that brown rice and quinoa are healthy and tasty grains without gluten.

andreamkelly

I lost 100 pounds on the Atkins diet in 1999 over a 9 month period. Loved it! Got to eat all the fats, cheese, bacon, etc I wanted. But then reality hit in the form of kidney stones. My doctor told me it was because of all the animal proteins I was eating and told me to get off the diet immediately. I ended up having about 13 outpatient surgeries over the next 10 years and gained all the weight back too. (Sad when the nurses at 2 different hospitals know you by name ) I know my case is isolated and also due to my genes, but I would warn anyone planning on staying on the diet for any length of time to talk to their doctors and have tests done as recommended. Kidney stones are not my idea of fun.

bacitracin

I had great success with Atkins. I lost nearly 20 pounds in two weeks. But beware, as soon as you stop, the weight just jumps back on. I was ok doing it for a while but got burned out.

Because that's just water weight. To lose 20 pounds of fat in two weeks, you'd have to burn, what, 70,000 calories? To gain it all back, you'd have to eat that much again. That seems pretty unrealistic. The thing about the "induction" or "ketotic" phase of Atkins is to get over your sugar cravings and start on the road to defeating insulin resistance. This depletes the muscle glycogen and liver glycogen, and the thing about carbohydrates in your body is that to convert a molecule of carbohydrate into a molecule of fat, you need to bind it with four molecules of water. So when you deplete the sugar in your body, about 4/5 of what you're "losing" as far as weight goes, is water.

philippians4and13

I've done Atkins before, I definitely dropped the weight....FAST! I lost about 50lbs in 3 months with absolutely NO exercise. However once I quit the diet I gained it all back then some. I won't blame all the weight gain on the diet but I will say that my body was sooooo not used to grain carbs and even fruit carbs that when I introduced them even moderately into my diet I saw the scale creep up. Eventually, I just lost motivation and gained a ton of weight. I would say that I probably didn't follow the diet to the letter. I loved the fact that the weight was falling off but I hadn't changed my eating habits much. I was still eating a lot of fast food, just removing the bread off if burgers. I ate eggs and cheese, butter, lots of processed meats, pork skin chips, heavy cream and all things fat fat fat fat! I knew it wasnt exactly the Atkins plan, but I didn't think any thing of it because I was losing the weight. But my cholesterol suffered, and I never really conquered my battle of over eating because I could eat all the non carbs I wanted and still lose weight. this go round I prefer a more nutrition balanced diet that forces me into making good decisions and encourages me to exercise. I am more serious about my health now and I'm willing to work hard, eat less and healthier, and lose my blubber slowly in order to keep it off.
Although i do still monitor my carbs very closely because they do affect my weight.

Losing weight is different for everybody and I wish you much success through your journey.

Wonderob

Would that be our Neolithic ancestors with a life expectancy of 20?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#Life_expectancy_variation_over_time

That's a fallacious argument. Can you directly correlate their life expectancy to their diet? What about lack of dental, medical and societal welfare, as well as lack of protection from predators, disease, infection, and aggression from your own kind? I think that a modern man, put in a neolithic society, but given a bottomless cave full of bread to eat, would also be lucky to live past 20.

Now wait a minute - it wasn't me that used the eating habits of ancestors from long ago to prove their argument

The statement was 'If you needed carbs to live, poor Grok (from neolithic times) with his leaves and buffalo would have never made it to adulthood to beget, eventually, us.' ..... Used to back up the 'no need for carbs' argument

I replied with "Actually he didn't often make it to adulthood!" Thus negating the 'proof'

I can't correlate their life expectancy to their diet, just as you can't assume it wasn't

Sean_The_IT_Guy

Would that be our Neolithic ancestors with a life expectancy of 20?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#Life_expectancy_variation_over_time

That's a fallacious argument. Can you directly correlate their life expectancy to their diet? What about lack of dental, medical and societal welfare, as well as lack of protection from predators, disease, infection, and aggression from your own kind? I think that a modern man, put in a neolithic society, but given a bottomless cave full of bread to eat, would also be lucky to live past 20.

Now wait a minute - it wasn't me that used the eating habits of ancestors from long ago to prove their argument

The statement was 'If you needed carbs to live, poor Grok (from neolithic times) with his leaves and buffalo would have never made it to adulthood to beget, eventually, us.' ..... Used to back up the 'no need for carbs' argument

I replied with "Actually he didn't often make it to adulthood!" Thus negating the 'proof'

I can't correlate their life expectancy to their diet, just as you can't assume it wasn't

But you can't say "You need carbs to live because cavemen often didn't live to adulthood" because many DID, and unless someone was farming wheat, they didn't live on our crazy high carb diets.

katysmelly

Do you mean every single TASTY carb has gluten? Because there are plenty of good carbs that are not made with wheat.

SyntonicGarden

There's a gluten-free group on here actually... It's not that bad once you get the hang of it. And there are LOTS of great tasting, easy to make recipes, especially if you can eat things like meat and tofu. I'm gluten sensitive and can make suggestions / recommendations for stuff. Feel free to send a friend request of private message if you need help.

yummummum

x- weight watcher girl. love low carb. i am gluten free also. i lost a lot of weight on atkins-style and now do more paleo (my own version as i do indulge in gf treats here and there like corn chips)

Wonderob

Would that be our Neolithic ancestors with a life expectancy of 20?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#Life_expectancy_variation_over_time

That's a fallacious argument. Can you directly correlate their life expectancy to their diet? What about lack of dental, medical and societal welfare, as well as lack of protection from predators, disease, infection, and aggression from your own kind? I think that a modern man, put in a neolithic society, but given a bottomless cave full of bread to eat, would also be lucky to live past 20.

Now wait a minute - it wasn't me that used the eating habits of ancestors from long ago to prove their argument

The statement was 'If you needed carbs to live, poor Grok (from neolithic times) with his leaves and buffalo would have never made it to adulthood to beget, eventually, us.' ..... Used to back up the 'no need for carbs' argument

I replied with "Actually he didn't often make it to adulthood!" Thus negating the 'proof'

I can't correlate their life expectancy to their diet, just as you can't assume it wasn't

But you can't say "You need carbs to live because cavemen often didn't live to adulthood" because many DID, and unless someone was farming wheat, they didn't live on our crazy high carb diets.

I didn't say they needed carbs to live.

Acg67

Would that be our Neolithic ancestors with a life expectancy of 20?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#Life_expectancy_variation_over_time

That's a fallacious argument. Can you directly correlate their life expectancy to their diet? What about lack of dental, medical and societal welfare, as well as lack of protection from predators, disease, infection, and aggression from your own kind? I think that a modern man, put in a neolithic society, but given a bottomless cave full of bread to eat, would also be lucky to live past 20.

Now wait a minute - it wasn't me that used the eating habits of ancestors from long ago to prove their argument

The statement was 'If you needed carbs to live, poor Grok (from neolithic times) with his leaves and buffalo would have never made it to adulthood to beget, eventually, us.' ..... Used to back up the 'no need for carbs' argument

I replied with "Actually he didn't often make it to adulthood!" Thus negating the 'proof'

I can't correlate their life expectancy to their diet, just as you can't assume it wasn't

But you can't say "You need carbs to live because cavemen often didn't live to adulthood" because many DID, and unless someone was farming wheat, they didn't live on our crazy high carb diets.

Would 300g+ of carbs be considered high carb?

afcgirl

I have been doing Atkins style for at least five years and I am in the best shape of my life (even pre-kids). I stopped binge eating and I feel great.

I am LESS irritable when I eat low carb, no sugar mood swings and no depression.

Also, I do not gain weight any faster when I go off plan than I do on any other diet. Yes I will gain back a few lbs of water weight quickly when I start eating unhealthy but that is true for weight watchers and every other diet I have tried. When I go back on plan it then comes off quickly.

There is a lot of misinformation on MFP about Atkins. Not sure why people get so riled up about it sometimes. :huh: Keep in mind that ever since nutritionists started promoting low fat diets, the American people have gotten even fatter and type 2 diabetes is through the roof.

Also if you are doing Atkins correctly, then you are eating carbs. It is not a no-carb plan, it is a low carb plan. Veggies and salads are encouraged, and later so are some fruits and other "good carbs".

Remember it is a way of life, not a diet. While I mostly eat low carb, of course I have bread and other "cheats" on occasion. I try to limit it to a weekend night or a special occasion. Some people avoid them altogether if they are particularly carb sensitive. See what works for you.

Good luck!

Edited to add: My bloodwork (e.g., cholesterol) has actually improved on Atkins. It was always good but now it is even better. And I had a heart healthy check up which came back perfect.

RayRay1500

I have been doing Atkins style for at least five years and I am in the best shape of my life (even pre-kids). I stopped binge eating and I feel great.

I am LESS irritable when I eat low carb, no sugar mood swings and no depression.

Also, I do not gain weight any faster when I go off plan than I do on any other diet. Yes I will gain back a few lbs of water weight quickly when I start eating unhealthy but that is true for weight watchers and every other diet I have tried. When I go back on plan it then comes off quickly.

There is a lot of misinformation on MFP about Atkins. Not sure why people get so riled up about it sometimes. :huh: Keep in mind that ever since nutritionists started promoting low fat diets, the American people have gotten even fatter.

Also if you are doing Atkins correctly, then you are eating carbs. It is not a no-carb plan, it is a low carb plan. Veggies and salads are encouraged, and later so are some fruits and other "good carbs".

Remember it is a way of life, not a diet. While I mostly eat low carb, of course I have bread and other "cheats" on occasion. I try to limit it to a weekend night or a special occasion. Some people avoid them altogether if they are particularly carb sensitive. See what works for you.

Good luck!


This is great! Also you can research Dr. Mary Vernon and Dr. Steven Phinney. I know that Dr. Vernon practiced low carb with her patients, and herself, and they came off all of their diabetes medication and high blood pressure medicine, and lost the weight too!

RayRay1500

I have been doing Atkins style for at least five years and I am in the best shape of my life (even pre-kids). I stopped binge eating and I feel great.

I am LESS irritable when I eat low carb, no sugar mood swings and no depression.

Also, I do not gain weight any faster when I go off plan than I do on any other diet. Yes I will gain back a few lbs of water weight quickly when I start eating unhealthy but that is true for weight watchers and every other diet I have tried. When I go back on plan it then comes off quickly.

There is a lot of misinformation on MFP about Atkins. Not sure why people get so riled up about it sometimes. :huh: Keep in mind that ever since nutritionists started promoting low fat diets, the American people have gotten even fatter.

Also if you are doing Atkins correctly, then you are eating carbs. It is not a no-carb plan, it is a low carb plan. Veggies and salads are encouraged, and later so are some fruits and other "good carbs".

Remember it is a way of life, not a diet. While I mostly eat low carb, of course I have bread and other "cheats" on occasion. I try to limit it to a weekend night or a special occasion. Some people avoid them altogether if they are particularly carb sensitive. See what works for you.

Good luck!


This is great! Also you can research Dr. Mary Vernon and Dr. Steven Phinney. I know that Dr. Vernon practiced low carb with her patients, and herself, and they came off all of their diabetes medication and high blood pressure medicine, and lost the weight too!
(Sorry, did not mean to post this on your actual quote afcgirl!!!!!